Here's something I envisioned last fall and have been meaning to post
for comment. There were conversations here about gents chains and about
balancing the activity levels of ladies and gents. At Squirrel Moon
Weekend, Tom Hinds called a dance whose details I don't remember, except
that it started with a gents chain across from Becket formation,
followed by gents chain on the right diagonal (I think). About 2/3 of
the way through the dance, he switched to start with a ladies chain
across and then on the left diagonal. It was dramatic how different the
two versions of the dance felt. That got me to thinking, why not switch
each time through to symmetrize the dance, the way modern dances with
contra corners often do? Perhaps that's sufficiently disorienting to be
cutting edge.
I have not had the occasion to call this, but would be happy to hear if
anyone thinks it's worth giving a try. I haven't thought through the
teaching, but imagine that for a group that could handle it, two
walk-throughs would be useful.
The working title is "Both Sides"
Becket
A1 Gents allemande 1 1/2; Neighbor swing
A2 Long lines forward and back; Gents chain, courtesy turn
B1 Gents left shoulder full hey
B2 Partner balance and swing
Alternate with
A1 Ladies allemande right 1 1/2; Neighbor swing
A2 Long lines; Ladies chain, courtesy trun
B1 Ladies right shoulder full hey
B2 Partner balance and swing
Dave Harding
On 3/26/2017 8:26 PM, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote:
> Hi choreographer folks,
>
> I'm leading a session at NEFFA called "Cutting-Edge Contras",
> consisting of un-premiered (or very sparsely called) contras. If
> anyone has any dances they'd like to throw my way for consideration,
> please do so!
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
Hi choreographer folks,
I'm leading a session at NEFFA called "Cutting-Edge Contras", consisting of
un-premiered (or very sparsely called) contras. If anyone has any dances
they'd like to throw my way for consideration, please do so!
Cheers,
Maia
To my knowledge, it depends on the dance; i.e. how many beats has the
choreographer allowed for. Some dances are timed to 2 beats zig, 2 beats
zag. Some are timed for 4 beat zig and 4 beat zag.
I believe that "Cows are Watching" (just looked online) and Weave the
Line, as examples, are the latter.
I can't recall the name of a dance with the similar zig/zag into a gents
alle L as "Cows" that, I think, has 2 beats/zig timing.
Ken
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2017 13:43:36 -0500
> From: Jerome Grisanti via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: Tom Hinds <twhinds(a)earthlink.net>
> Cc: "callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] ???? Looking for Author of Dance -dancers
> adjust
> Message-ID:
> <CAD6SnUQMse394aS9QSQ4XnxWyoGW79J1epej29RAS4c=NZQ9bA@mail.
> gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> I tend to think of the zig as four beats and the zag as four more. Four
> total would be zesty or rushed, depending on the crowd and music.
>
> Jerome
>
>
>
> On Friday, March 24, 2017, Tom Hinds via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> > I believe that zig left, zag right normally takes 4 beats. If the
> dancers
> > zag a little farther so men can easily take a left hand that would take
> an
> > additional 2 beats for a total of 6 counts. I'll confirm the timing this
> > Saturday.
> >
> > For me there's this issue of how much we ask the dancers to adjust. It
> > seems that asking dancers to adjust is common in English and perhaps less
> > common in contra.
> >
> >
> > Tom
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> >
>
>
>
The dance "Cows Are Watching" can be seen in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz8C4THCx2I
You can all watch for yourselves and judge how long dancers are taking
for the various parts and how leisurely or rushed the action appears
to be. It seems to me that men are usually starting their allemandes
sometime between beats 13 and 15 of B1, and more often a shade before
beat 14 than a shade after.
According to the YouTube timer, the time for 12x64 beats of music (from
a beat near the start of the videao to a beat at the same point in the
tune near the end) is about 6:20, giving an average tempo a little over
121 b.p.m. The hall is not crowded, so dancers have ample space for
the roll-away in beats 5-8 of B1. In some cases, but not all, dancers
appear already to have started to veer ("zig") left by beat 8. The
general skill level of the dancing is pretty high, with only occasional
mind lapses and not a lot of fumbling around or confusion about what to
do next. Perhaps the typical timing of the zig zag would be different
with a different tempo of music, a more crowded floor, or a different
mix of dancer skills, or with a caller who made a big point about
asking dancers to take a full four beats to zig left.
I haven't found any other videos of "Cows Are Watching", but here's a
video of "Weave the Line":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8peDGz-zkc
It seems to me that dancers are completing the sequence
Veer (zig) left past current neighbors
Veer (zag) right to face next neighbors and keep veering
right to pass them
Veer left to face third neighbors
pretty much within the first 8 beats of A2, though they may sometimes
be stealing a beat from the figure before (circle left) and/or from
the figure after (do-si-do third neighbor).
--Jim
On Mar 25, 2017, at 11:43 AM, Jerome Grisanti via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I tend to think of the zig as four beats and the zag as four more. Four total would be zesty or rushed, depending on the crowd and music.
>
> Jerome
>
>
>
> On Friday, March 24, 2017, Tom Hinds via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I believe that zig left, zag right normally takes 4 beats. If the dancers zag a little farther so men can easily take a left hand that would take an additional 2 beats for a total of 6 counts. I'll confirm the timing this Saturday.
>
> For me there's this issue of how much we ask the dancers to adjust. It seems that asking dancers to adjust is common in English and perhaps less common in contra.
>
>
> Tom
<snip>
I have a wonderful dance in my box that I enjoy dancing and calling - but do not know who wrote it…. can anyone tell me who wrote it?
Also - is this the correct name since another caller said they had a dance called “the Cows are Watching” ?
Anyone have any other “Cow” dances since we are on a theme ?
The Cows go Marching by _________________
A1 (8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Women allemande Right 1-1/2
A2 (16) Neighbor balance and swing
B1 (8) Balance the ring
(8) Gents Roll/Sashay Partner across set
B2 (4) Zig to Left (w/Partner),
(4) Zag to Right and Gents catch by Left
(8) Men allemande Left 1x to Partner Swing
Thanks - Cheryl
Cheryl Joyal
clmjoyal(a)gmail.com <mailto:clmjoyal@gmail.com>
clmjoyal(a)aol.com <mailto:clmjoyal@aol.com>
630-667-3284 (cell)
Cheryl Joyal
clmjoyal(a)gmail.com
clmjoyal(a)aol.com
630-667-3284 (cell)
Omg I forgot about a couple of these! Thanks all I think I have my
program!😀
Mary
On Mar 23, 2017 10:18 PM, "Andy Shore via Callers" <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> John Coffman has a bunch of dances with suggestive titles -
> https://sites.google.com/site/capecontradance/home/contra-
> dances-by-john-coffman
>
> Stimulus Package
> Working Stiff
> An Arm and a Leg
> Balance the Books
> Communist Plot
> Mad Money
> Pay Dirt
> Rolling in the Dough
>
>
> On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 4:11 AM, Mary Collins via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> I am calling on April 15th....would love some ideas for "tax" related
>> dances. Any out there?
>>
>> Thanks.
>> Mary Collins
>>
>> “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning
>> to dance in the rain!” ~ Unknown
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> /Andy Shore
> http://andyshore.com/
>
> best email - andyshore(a)gmail.com
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
Harking back to a prior thread - there's different dizziness quotients for
different moves. I ran an experiment with dancers where we did 64 beats+ of
Mad Robin CW - no reported dizziness.
In my experience, the tighter the radius, the higher the perceived
dizziness. Think of it as RPB (rotations per beat). Facing direction also
impacts perception (can you look at a fixed (relative) point?).
So on a scale, a swing could be a 1.0, a Walkaround/G*p*y Right say a 0.8,
Allemande Right = 0.6?, Left shoulder center start Hey = 0.2?. Circles more
dizzy than Stars?, etc.
Bottom line, in my experience, a simple CW beat count is a useful first
level check but doesn't necessarily represent the dance's true perceived
"dizzy dancer" impact.
-Don
BTW Michael (from the parallel Trad Dance Callers thread): I have Fun Dance
for Marjorie as being by Bob Golder, collected from the author himself. :)
Ref:
https://www.library.unh.edu/special/forms/rpdlw/syllabus2009.pdf#page=25
On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 12:39 AM, Ron Blechner via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Unfortunately, I count a whole lot of clockwise rotation.
> In beats:
> A1: 12 all, assuming people spin on the Petronella
> A2: 4 for Gents
> B1. 16
> B2. 16, with ladies getting an extra rotation.
>
> So, that's 44 beats of clockwise rotation (the "noticeably dizzy mark" for
> me is 40) and gents get 48 beats.
>
> Sorry. :(
>
> Ron Blechner
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
Putney VT is short a caller. Very sweet local dance, 7:30-10:30,
all-contras is ok but a mix of contras/circles/longways is way OK too.
Email me directly and I'll give you the gory details.
Amy Cann
802-222-7598
John Coffman has a bunch of dances with suggestive titles -
https://sites.google.com/site/capecontradance/home/contra-dances-by-john-co…
Stimulus Package
Working Stiff
An Arm and a Leg
Balance the Books
Communist Plot
Mad Money
Pay Dirt
Rolling in the Dough
On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 4:11 AM, Mary Collins via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I am calling on April 15th....would love some ideas for "tax" related
> dances. Any out there?
>
> Thanks.
> Mary Collins
>
> “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning
> to dance in the rain!” ~ Unknown
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
--
/Andy Shore
http://andyshore.com/
best email - andyshore(a)gmail.com
The wonderful Take All of the Credit and None of the Blame
April Blum On Mar 23, 2017 7:11 AM, Mary Collins via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> I am calling on April 15th....would love some ideas for "tax" related dances. Any out there?
>
> Thanks.
> Mary Collins
>
> “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain!” ~ Unknown